Yugasa no Kaze
by Nathan Huss
Summary: An SI fic, of all things... I wake up one day to suddenly find myself in the SM universe... but they know who I am?


Disclaimer Time! I own stuff. Sailor Moon and its characters, as well as a few other things, are not a part of that stuff. You can't have the stuff that is mine!  
  
====================  
  
Yugasa no Kaze  
  
A Sailor Moon SI fic  
  
By Nathan Huss  
  
====================  
  
Chapter One: I'm Fairly Certain This Isn't Kansas...  
  
'That was a really dumb idea,' Nathan thought as he was hit in the chest and was sent flying backward. 'Didn't even seem like the best idea at the time.' He was slightly amused at how calm he seemed to be as he crashed roughly into a brick wall. 'Probably in denial, or shock,' he considered as he remembered what had occurred just scant moments beforehand...  
  
The rain was the first thing Nathan had noticed. It was barely a drizzle, but it was slowly strengthening. The second thing had been that he was lying uncomfortably on pavement. The third thing had been the monster.  
  
He hadn't quite been aware of it until he had stood up. Once he finally did notice it, though, it immediately took up all his attention. The best way to describe it was that it was simply a monster. It looked female, but was over seven feet tall, covered in green scales, and possessed very sharp looking claws and teeth. Finally, it was standing barely five feet away from him, and was staring right at him.  
  
The surrealness of the situation, along with the fact that the monster looked like it was just as confused as he was, kept Nathan from immediately from panicking. Only one thing came to mind for what to do in that situation.  
  
"Look! Godzilla!" Nathan shouted, pointing behind the monster with a folded-up umbrella that he hadn't even been aware he had been holding. To his surprise, it actually turned around to look. That was when he had made the mistake of following up with swinging the umbrella at the back of the monster's head. The umbrella merely bent where it had connected, while the monster showed no sign of being affected.  
  
It had then turned back to face him, cocked its head in a questioning way, and slammed a fist into Nathan's chest.  
  
'Yeah, _reeeaaally_ dumb idea,' Nathan thought as the monster stalked toward him.  
  
"*Supreme Thunder!*"  
  
Nathan blinked and readjusted his skewed glasses as a lightning bolt struck the monster in the side.  
  
Suddenly four girls in short-skirted uniforms of some sort surrounded the monster.  
  
'No... Bloody hell no... Impossible...'  
  
Nathan stared at the tableau in front of him as one of the girls, who had long blonde hair in a slightly silly style, give some sort of speech to the monster in what he assumed was probably Japanese. He couldn't make out any of it, except for a bit at the end that sounded suspiciously like "Sailor Moon."  
  
"Dear gods..." he mumbled. He propped himself up against the wall he had been knocked into to watch as the four girls started fighting the monster with blasts of lighting, fire, and ice. Things began to blur together due to the pain from his injuries. The monster ('Youma,' Nathan's somewhat muddled brain supplied.) gained the upper hand at one point, only to have a rose plant itself in the sidewalk in front of it as some guy in a tuxedo said something to the girls. The youma was outnumbered, quickly overwhelmed and turned into a pile of dust by the oddly haired girl.  
  
Things were starting to fade out at that point, but Nathan managed to register a blue-haired girl kneeling next to him.  
  
"Huss-san, daijobu? Huss-san?"  
  
He mumbled something, not quite sure of just what he said, and passed out.  
  
^^^^^^^^^^  
  
"What was that?" Sailor Moon asked as the brown-haired gaijin slumped into unconsciousness.  
  
"I think he said 'This is the strangest day of my life yet' in English," Sailor Mercury said absently as she held the Mercury Computer up. "We have to get him to a hospital. From what I can tell he has some broken bones in his arm and a few minor injuries. Nothing life-threatening yet, but we should hurry."  
  
The others nodded. Save the guy first, and then grill Ami on how she apparently knew him by name.  
  
^^^^^^^^^^  
  
Nathan woke up slowly, and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes. Or more precisely, the large blur that he assumed was the ceiling.  
  
"That's... not the right color," he mumbled quietly as he reached for where his glasses would usually be on his night table. His left arm, however, was unable to move, and when he looked at it he was able to make out that it was in a cast.  
  
"That's... not good."  
  
Looking around as well as he was able, Nathan was able to find a small box with a red button. Grinning at the small ocular victory, he pushed it. Soon after he had, a woman he guessed was a nurse came into the room and immediately began checking him over when she saw that he was awake. She was saying some things in Japanese that he couldn't even begin to guess at what they meant, and she was gone before he could ask if she spoke English.  
  
A few minutes later another woman walked into the room, except she was wearing what Nathan believed was a different type of clothing than the previous one. She walked up next to him and asked him something.  
  
"I'm sorry," he spoke up. "I have absolutely no idea what you just said."  
  
"I ask if you still feel pain," she asked in accented English.  
  
"Ah." He did a quick mental check. "My left arm itches. Does that count? By the way, where are my glasses?"  
  
The woman, who he was guessing at this point was a doctor, chuckled for a brief moment, and then handed him his glasses, which had been on a nearby table. Thanking her, he slipped them on.  
  
"You know where you are, and who?" she asked after checking some charts from the foot of the bed.  
  
He shook his head. "Somewhere in Asia, I assume. No idea on that otherwise. Nathan Huss."  
  
She frowned for a moment, and turned back to the charts. As she flipped through several sheets, Nathan noticed something strange about her; Her hair had a slightly blue tint to it.  
  
'Don't tell me...'  
  
"Excuse me, um, Doctor?"  
  
"Hai?" she replied, looking up.  
  
"I was just wondering what your name is... and where I am."  
  
She blinked. "Cannot read nametag?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"I am Doctor Mizuno, and you are at Juuban General Hospital, in Japan."  
  
Nathan sighed. 'Guessed as much.'  
  
^^^^^^^^^^  
  
"C'mon Ami-chan, spill! You've barely told us anything!" Usagi said as she, Rei, and Makoto accompanied Ami to the hospital to visit the man from the other day.  
  
"He's just someone I see at the library occasionally," the blue-haired girl said. "We ended up talking with each other at one point and became friends."  
  
"Huh, never knew you were into older guys, Ami-chan," Makoto said with a grin.  
  
"Mako-chan! I... no...he... we're just friends!" Ami began to blush lightly. "I barely see him anywhere other than the library!"  
  
The girls continued to tease her as they walked in through the main doors of the hospital, causing her blush to progressively deepen. When they got to the front desk they let up, and she asked for Nathan's room.  
  
"He's currently undergoing observation for a complication that turned up," the receptionist said once she had called up the information on the computer.  
  
"What's wrong?" Ami asked, as her friends became more serious instantly.  
  
"Your mother went to check on him when he woke up earlier, and apparently he has some form of amnesia. Doesn't remember ever coming to Japan, or even learning the language."  
  
The four civilian-mode Senshi glanced at each other. This was the first time anything like this had resulted from a youma attack.  
  
"Do... you think we'd be able to see him?"  
  
^^^^^^^^^^  
  
Nathan stared out the window from his position in bed, a bored expression on his face. Inside, however, his mind was racing.  
  
'I'm in Sailor Moon. I'm in an anime... or manga, possibly. I am soooo screwed.'  
  
He was able to piece together some things from the records Dr. Mizuno had shown him. He'd supposedly been in Japan for about a year or so, and was attending a local college as a study abroad student. Neither of which he could even contemplate being able to do, especially with how poorly he picked up other languages.  
  
So he had lied about some things, not that anyone would have been able to catch it. No, he didn't remember where he lived here. He didn't remember what he was studying. Yes, he remembered being attacked. No, he didn't remember what he had been doing right before he was attacked.  
  
Those were the type of things that he had been asked about, and had been thankful of it. Just the thought of telling someone everything he did know or suspect sent shivers up his spine. Even if someone believed him, the amount of trouble it would cause some people...  
  
"Huss-san? Hello?"  
  
He looked to the door. 'Case in point.'  
  
Ami was standing just inside the door, a slightly nervous and concerned expression on her face, with Usagi, Rei, and Makoto right behind her.  
  
"Yes?" he replied in what he hoped was a friendly sounding voice. "Can I help you? Though I kinda doubt it."  
  
She walked, followed by the others. Nathan internally noted how odd it was to see flesh and blood people for what was effectively the first time and recognize them from ink and paper. Even so, he was also thinking as quickly as he could to assess the situation.  
  
'Probably following up on something from the youma attack... Minako isn't here, so she's either busy or hasn't shown up yet... Wait, she wasn't there at the attack... so she's not... and that means I'm near the beginning...'  
  
"Do you recognize me?" asked Ami, interrupting his contemplation.  
  
He shook his head, telling himself that it wasn't really a lie, strictly speaking. "Not really. You sorta look like Dr. Mizuno, but that's the best I can do. Like I told her, I don't even know what I'm doing on this side of the planet."  
  
She nodded, still having the worried expression, and turned to speak to the other girls in Japanese.  
  
'I should know her?' he asked himself silently.  
  
^^^^^^^^^^  
  
"Do you think the youma had some ability to steal memories?" Rei asked.  
  
"None of the ones before have shown any sign of being able to do so," Ami answered. "A Dark General might be able to, though."  
  
Makoto nodded. "I sure didn't see one around. Couldn't it just be a concussion or something? He did land pretty roughly when it hit him."  
  
Ami shook her head, and gestured toward the charts at the foot of Nathan's bed. "His only real injuries are a broken arm and some bruised ribs."  
  
"You think Luna might be able to do something, then?" Usagi put in. "She said she had sensed something strange right before we arrived."  
  
"Maybe..."  
  
"You're sure he can't understand us, right?" Rei piped up, tilting her head toward Nathan. "He's looking at us funny."  
  
Makoto grinned ruefully. "Probably wondering why four rude girls are talking with each other right in front of him without him being able to understand. We should save this until later."  
  
The shared a group nod.  
  
^^^^^^^^^^  
  
"We're sorry about that, Huss-san," said Ami, bowing. "We just had to discuss something quickly."  
  
"No problem, I guess," he said. "Er... and just... could you just call me 'Nathan' or 'Nate?' I'm not quite comfortable with all that '-san,' '-kun,' '-sama,' and '-chan' stuff."  
  
Ami's face twisted into a frown for a moment, but it quickly disappeared and she nodded. "Alright, Nathan."  
  
"And now that we've established my name, do I have to guess yours?"  
  
"Ah! Gomen!" she exclaimed, blushing in embarrassment. "I'm Mizuno Ami, and these are my friends Tsukino Usagi, Hino Rei, and Kino Makoto." Each of the other three girls nodded and smiled at him as their name was said.  
  
'At least now I won't slip up by saying their names when I'm not supposed to know them,' he thought as he nodded back in turn.  
  
"I guess you know me from before..." He made a gesture to encompass the room.  
  
"Hai... I mean, 'yes'."  
  
Nathan grinned. Though he felt he shouldn't be able to, he was having fun with this. "I may not be able to speak it, but I do know a few words of Japanese. Mind you they're the simple type one picks up from watching too much anime, but..." He shrugged.  
  
Ami nodded, and translated for the rest of the girls. Usagi immediately started to ask him something, and then stopped remembering his just-mentioned inability with her native language.  
  
"She wants to know what types you like," Ami translated, giving a small but exasperated sigh.  
  
"Science fiction and stuff with mecha, for the most part," Nathan said. "A few comedy ones occasionally."  
  
After Ami had told this to the blonde-haired girl, Nathan tried to make sure the topic went back to where it had started. "So how am I supposed to know you? You don't look like you're old enough to be in college."  
  
"Oh, I'm not. I ran into you one day at the public library..."  
  
"Literally or no?"  
  
"Ano... literally," she answered sheepishly.  
  
Nathan quirked an eyebrow in surprise. He had been joking, but...  
  
"We ended up talking for a bit after you apologized. After that, we'd spot each other and just talk a little every so often."  
  
"Sounds nice, though I don't remember any of it. So why are you here? From what you say it's more like we're just acquaintances than friends."  
  
"Well... We happened to be on the same street as you during the youma attack. After the Sailor Senshi-"  
  
"The who-now?" he asked.  
  
It took Ami a moment to decipher his wording. "Oh, the Sailor Senshi. They're... a group of monster hunters, I guess you could call them."  
  
"You mean those girls in the... I guess you could say color-coded outfits? Don't know what else to call them."  
  
Ami nodded.  
  
"Hm... I'm certainly grateful to them for what they did, but I think it's totally ridiculous to fight monsters in those skirts. Not that they don't look good in them."  
  
Nathan fought down a grin while she translated that part of the conversation. Ami herself was blushing once again, while the rest had to stifle what Nathan assumed to be a squawk of indignation, or at least embarrassment to some degree.  
  
Rei, after collecting herself, spoke to Ami, who turned to Nathan.  
  
"If you don't mind, we were just wondering what you do remember? You don't seem like have total amnesia."  
  
Nathan sighed, and looked back out the window. "I remember... another life, I suppose you could say. Same 'me,' age, name and all, except never learning coming here to Japan or even learning the language."  
  
He silently added to himself, 'Not to mention that 'here' is a piece of fiction as far as I was previously aware...'  
  
"This must be very confusing, then," Ami said.  
  
He grinned widely. "Oh, yes, but it's also a lot of fun. I've always wondered what it would be like to be insane to some degree, and that's the best explanation I have for this."  
  
This got him a puzzled, slightly worried look from Ami and the other girls.  
  
"Oh, don't mind me," he said, waving dismissively. "I do things like that sometimes. An odd sense of humor seems to be genetic in my family."  
  
"If you say so..."  
  
He nodded. "It's also a way to relieve boredom," he said, continuing in the same cheerful tone of voice he had used earlier. "I don't look forward to my stay here, what with not being able to understand the magazines and TV shows."  
  
At this, Usagi had an idea when his comment had been translated. Through Ami, she suggested that they stop by his home and see if he had anything in English there that they could bring him, as well as see if any of it could trigger his memories.  
  
Nathan chuckled to himself as Rei made a comment that he imagined was about being surprised at Usagi coming up with a good idea like that. At least the argument between the two immediately following seemed to suggest something of the sort.  
  
"A nice idea, but since I don't remember where I live, a tad non-viable," Nathan said, ignoring the two.  
  
"It might be written in your wallet," Ami suggested, "and I can ask my mother to look inside, if you would allow us to."  
  
"Why didn't I think of that?" he said, mumbling. In a louder voice, he continued. "If you really feel like doing it, go ahead. Hm... Though now that I think about it further how will you get in?"  
  
"That will be easy. You told me once that you share an apartment with another student, so he'll be able to let us in."  
  
"And it all falls into a row..." Nathan whispered.  
  
Ami blinked. "What?"  
  
Nathan smiled. "Just talking to myself. Are they still at it?"  
  
Rei and Usagi were indeed still arguing with each other, albeit they had degenerated to sticking their tongues out at each other. Makoto was holding a hand over her face in embarrassment.  
  
"Oi!" he called out loudly.  
  
Rei and Usagi jumped slightly, and glared at Nathan. He just smirked at them until they both looked away and mumbled an apology.  
  
"Well, it's been nice meeting you girls," Nathan said. "If you don't mind, I'd like to rest for a while."  
  
"Of course. I'll be back tomorrow with some of your things," Ami said.  
  
Nathan nodded. "Thanks. Hm... sayonara."  
  
Ami smiled. "Sayonara." She was echoed by the other three girls.  
  
After they had left the room, Nathan found himself smiling gently. 'That was interesting. They all seem pretty much as I remember they're supposed to be. Strange to see naturally blue hair, though.'  
  
'It's all too convenient,' he thought suddenly, and frowned. 'One of the Scouts... Senshi knows me, or who I'm supposed to be. Her mother is the first doctor who comes to check on me. I have a roommate who can let them in to get stuff that's hopefully going to bring back memories I shouldn't have.  
  
'All totally reasonable, considering... But gods, something just seems off.'  
  
^^^^^^^^^^  
  
"He seems nice," Usagi said as she and her friends walked away from the hospital. "A bit weird, though."  
  
"Usagi-chan, if any of us lost our memories, I doubt we'd exactly be acting normally either," Makoto said.  
  
"What do you think, Ami-chan? Was he pretty much the same as before he lost them?"  
  
"Well... I really didn't know him that well..."  
  
All three of her friends loomed in front of her (but in a companionable way, really). "Ami-chan..."  
  
She sighed. "I suppose he was a bit... silly, in a way. He'd say something confusing all of the sudden, but you could tell that he'd done it on purpose, just to lighten the mood if it got too serious. But it wasn't really like how he was just now. When he was talking about wondering about being insane... it was like..."  
  
"Like he was covering up for something," supplied Rei. Ami nodded. "I thought so, too. He was too cheerful. At first I thought it was shock or something, but it just didn't feel right."  
  
"He also didn't seem very surprised at anything," Makoto said. "I noticed it when we first walked in. He seemed a bit startled when we first came in, but after that it was like he was just waiting for certain things to happen."  
  
All of them digested that for a moment. Had he actually been expecting them, despite his apparent memory loss? If he really had, how, and why?  
  
"Checking him out right from when we first went in, Mako-chan?" Rei asked suddenly, a teasing note in her voice. "He doesn't seem like any of the other guys you've compared to your sempai. Then again, since none of them seem to work out for you, and you do complain about all the boys being shorter than you..."  
  
"ACK! Rei-chan!" Makoto cried as she stared at her friend in embarrassment. "He's kinda cute, but not my type at all!"  
  
"You may have to watch out, Ami-chan," Usagi giggled. "Mako-chan may try to steal Nathan-san from you."  
  
Flustered denials were uttered by both Makoto and Ami. Soon they all broke down into ribbing each other. They could worry later about everything later. Right now they just focused on being friends.  
  
^^^^^^^^^^  
  
"Something is wrong."  
  
In a dark room, somewhere, an old man stood. It would be hard to determine exactly how old he was, for though his hair had turned white from age, and his beard reached down low, there was a definite aura of power around him. He wore a simple black robe, with a red pentacle prominent on the chest, peeking out from behind the beard.  
  
He stood in front of a table covered with etchings and glyphs. Scattered upon it in seemingly random positions were a small collection of items: multicolored beads, wood carvings, and bones.  
  
Off to the side, a large leather-bound tome rested upon a wooden pedestal. With a wave of the old man's hand as he strode towards it, it flung itself open, and the pages turned rapidly without the aid of hand or wind.  
  
"I had been fully prepared," he muttered. "All was ready. I felt it work... and yet something remains amiss..."  
  
The pages stopped, and he gazed down at the writings shown. "What has gone wrong?"  
  
Snarling, he slammed the tome shut.  
  
"You. Go." He pointed to a figure partially hidden near the edge of the room. Without a sound, it disappeared.  
  
"Why isn't he dead?"  
  
^^^^^^^^^^  
  
"Have I scared off your friends already?" Nathan asked cheerfully the next day as Ami came to see him.  
  
"No, of course not," she said, smiling at him. "They're just busy." She left out that they were busy discussing with a talking cat about if something needed to be done about him.  
  
"Good to know," he said. "I take it you managed to get in, then?" He pointed at the bag Ami was carrying.  
  
"Oh, yes. Nandaba-san was very understanding when I told him what had happened to you," she said as she began to take out several books.  
  
'Nandaba? Why does that sound...?' Nathan dismissed the thought as Ami placed the books on the table next to him.  
  
"Well, my taste in literature seems to be the same," he said as he looked at the authors. "Zelazny, Pratchett... the Niven I don't remember reading, though."  
  
The very last book had no author or title, but did have a small combination lock holding it shut. "A diary?"  
  
"That's what I assumed," Ami said. "If it is, it might be helpful."  
  
He nodded, and stared at the lock.  
  
"Are you going to open it?" she asked.  
  
He glanced up to give her a flat look, and sighed. He tapped a finger against the side of his head.  
  
"Oh, right..." Ami blushed.  
  
"I could try guessing what the combination is, but there's no real reason I'd get it right," he said. Turning back to the lock, he continued to himself, "Still, if I don't even try..."  
  
Ami fidgeted for a moment. She _could_ use the Mercury Computer to scan the lock and determine the combination, but if she did how would she be able to explain it? Then again, they could just break the lock open...  
  
"Ha!" Nathan exclaimed, and popped open the lock.  
  
"That was quick," Ami said. "Were you able to guess it right away?"  
  
"Nope. Just remembered a trick I have for these. I almost always set the numbers two digits off when I lock something like this." He opened the book to the first page, and smiled. "Good. It's in English."  
  
"So it is a diary?"  
  
"Yeah. Kind of odd now that I think of it. In what I do remember I attempted to keep one years and years ago, but totally stopped not four months after beginning it. Didn't get beyond a few token entries and making fun of my sister." He blinked. "I wonder if I still have one..."  
  
"I don't know. You never mentioned any siblings."  
  
He nodded vaguely. "Well, that's one of the things I hope to find out, then."  
  
"Do you think this will be enough?"  
  
"Sure. Dr. Mizuno said that I'll be physically well enough to leave the hospital in only a few days. On the other hand, if nothing happens with my memories, they want to keep me under observation."  
  
Ami nodded. "I hope the diary helps. Goodbye."  
  
"Sayonara."  
  
Nathan watched as Ami left the room. He had the oddest feeling he was failing to notice something, but for the life of him couldn't figure out what. Sighing to himself, he decided to leave it for the moment. Opening the diary, he began to read.  
  
'Time to see if I can learn enough to fake being me,' he thought with a small, worried smile.  
  
^^^^^^^^^^  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
And thus endith chapter the first!  
  
...  
  
Right. Enough of that, then. Hope you've liked it so far. The idea for this had been floating around in my head for about a year. I originally started working on it in an attempt to knock myself out of some writer's block I had on another SI of mine, "The Tendos' Brother." To my surprise, while it didn't help as I had planned at first, I had been writing more of it in 3 days than I had in two months, so eventually the decision came about that I didn't particularly care _what_ I was writing, so long as I actually _was_.  
  
In any case, thanks to those who volunteered for prereading this: Bombadil aka Baka Mazoku (biichan@shadowlady.com), Jahaj (jahaj@bellsouth.net), Parker Schadegg (Mikhal001@comcast.net), MDR (mikedr@gte.net), Quedorm (neoquedorm@hotmail.com), Rick Spiff (rick_spiff@yahoo.com).  
  
C&Cs are appreciated and asked for. If none are received my army of miniature orangutans will be released to wreck havoc on the general populace. You have been warned! 


End file.
